


A jovian love letter

by Ashizian



Category: No Fandom, Original Work, Romance (Original Work), Science-Fiction (Original Work), Short Story (Original Work)
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Culture, Biotechnology, Cultural Differences, Declarations Of Love, F/F, Falling In Love, First Love, Genetic Engineering, Genetically Engineered Beings, Lesbians in Space, Letters, Love Confessions, Love Letters, Mars, One Shot, Outer Space, Planets, Science Fiction, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:54:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27364606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashizian/pseuds/Ashizian
Summary: How to get around the difficulties of an ultra-long distance relation, when your girlfriend comes from a hostile country?
Kudos: 2





	A jovian love letter

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Une lettre d'amour jovienne](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26792167) by [Ashizian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashizian/pseuds/Ashizian). 



Evelina,

If I may have seemed cold to you these past few weeks, it's because I thought it would be more romantic to approach important topics in this way, with black ink on real white paper. A wonderful excuse to write turns of phrase entirely too formal for a girl my age, although I have a feeling you will appreciate the effort. I must have avoided a lot of questions about my native culture or, more specifically, why “getting together is going to be a living hell”. This is the first time that such a situation arises, and discussing it scares me. Until you know about the dangers it represents, our relationship won't change. I admit I took advantage of that a bit. I like your innocence. I wanted it to last.

We've known each other for almost five years. If my parents found out that I consider my rival for the trophy in the Wargames League to be my girlfriend, what would they say? I imagine my mother would see it as rather fragile foundations for a couple, but I have no doubt about my feelings for you. You are more than that to me. What I feel will not be a problem. The distance won’t be one either, although we live 550 million kilometers from each other, which must represent a month of travel on the transolar line. It will probably be six weeks before this letter reaches you (and you can count on me to enjoy every second of it in the meantime). To understand what's going to cause concern in our love life, I have to tackle some unpleasant and boring details. I promise I must.

My people are not well-liked in the solar system. What you have heard about us surely contains an element of truth as well as an element of propaganda. My ancestors were designed in a laboratory to increase their survivability in space. This was around the time when the Upsilons and Omicrons were starting to spread throughout society. Far, very far back. I don't know if there are any on Mars, considering that it has become illegal in your homeworld. I believe I heard that it is even forbidden to discuss them. Probably a mere rumor but, in the event that you do not know what I'm talking about, here it is in short: they are synthetic animals, with greater intelligence but restricted consciousness.

Both models can hold a quality conversation or perform tasks far beyond what a monkey would do, without its independence of mind. If they are not given orders, they just eat, sleep and wash themselves. The Omicron can be found in almost any form imaginable and will live its entire life devoid of willpower. The Upsilon is based on human genetics but have no ambition nor ego. Basically, we should see them only as automatons made in an artificial womb, nothing more.

Unlike these things, my kind are provided with a conscience. We have an ego and willpower. My people were supposed to fit into the Jupiter society they were helping to bring to fruition. That is not what happened. Terran law did not consider us any better than an Upsilon. The colonial government didn’t recognize our rights. Obviously the Jovians rebelled and, after a short but violent war, our Republic was founded. The countries of the inner belt have never forgiven us, especially not the Martians. Our relationship is likely to have a “Romeo and Juliet” aspect. It may sound poetic, but you will quickly understand that it is unfair.

That is the first difficulty in our relationship, but the second will not be any less annoying: we are not part of the same “race”. I am of course aware that the word has been overused for centuries, but it must however be taken literally in our case. I am two meters tall, which makes me the smallest girl in my class. I have metallic bones and a gray skin because of the element my cells generate to counter ionizing radiation. I can hold my breath for two hours. The specific structure of my epidermis allows me to go out into space without a suit. Our muscles have been optimized to carry up to eight times our weight in Earth's gravity.

My blood is strongly basic, in addition to being blue. My eyes can detect the entire magnetic spectrum, which allows me to notice things outside of your perception. On the other hand, my nose is weak and so flavors have no nuance. Our cells repair themselves with optimal efficiency: my limbs can grow back, under certain conditions. Besides, I will never become deaf, blind or paraplegic. Our brain is larger and has an additional lobe which allows us full control over our organism. I can decide to lose or grow my hair, increase my blood pressure, change my color, be fertile or not, etc.

My biology means that I will stay young almost until death. I will still look twenty in my fifties. However, my aging will suddenly accelerate after a certain age. We never exceed sixty-five years and our biochemistry does not tolerate anti-aging cocktails. This problem has never been solved, despite the revolution. I am therefore certain that, barring a serious incident, you will outlive me. We are also hypersensitive to hormonal treatments. A simple imbalance would be enough to make me spontaneously change sex. When colonization was just a project, our designers knew that the staff on site should be able to reproduce. They took the opportunity to introduce this handicap, in order to be able to sterilize us and then wait for our death to be rid of us.

On the other hand, I can assure you that what they say about my people is false on one point: yes, we have buttocks, breasts, a vagina, etc. Science has provided me with all the equipment necessary for your satisfaction. If you want to verify this statement in person, know that I would have no objection to removing your doubts.

The third and final obstacle to our love is the most mundane: our native cultures are not compatible. The Martian boasts of having a puritanical morality and a conformist spirit, while the motto of the Jovian republic is “liberty and independence”. It would be difficult to find any two civilizations more antagonistic than hours. Their history has a lot to do with it: the Martian settlers were mostly religious people, fleeing the purges of the Kingdom of France. They dreamed of establishing a “land under the gaze of the divine”. Jovians are made up of descendants of slaves who were denied the right to control their own bodies. The Earth saw in your ancestors a nuisance and in mine, tools.

You always talk to me as if being open-minded erotically, emotionally or mentally was something taboo. But those things are not uncommon where I live. It’s just that there is a rift between you and me. I remember a very old Terran expression: “coming from Mars and Venus”, which designates a relationship between people living in accordance with contrary ideals. It applies perfectly to our situation. To make matters worse, your compatriots are not kind to my native culture. The Jovian is a savage or a barbarian.

For example, our view on sexuality is different from that of other civilisations. We are biologically engineered never to feel jealousy. Our creators considered this emotion to be useless for a custom-built people intended to be discarded after use. The colonial administration carried out the selections of sexual partners, in order to maintain healthy reproductive diversity. Today, it is our families who decide on the best “candidate”, namely the one whose situation proves the quality of their genetic heritage. No matter how attached I am to someone else, my mother will choose whom I can have children with, and when those children are of age, this same responsibility will fall on my shoulders.

The habit may seem authoritarian but is fully justified. Without jealousy, Jovians tend to form couples with virtually anyone they like. Our people are a demographic bomb waiting to be detonated, kept under control only by their families. They have the experience to know who will make a suitable breeder, as well as to determine how many offspring we can properly raise.

Obviously, you can guess that in the absence of sentimental limitations, we invite people “to bed” as easily as we invite them to lunch. In order to make everyday life easier, all the people here wear a bracelet which indicates sexual orientation, preferences and dispositions. Mine has a color ranging from pink to blue, to indicate my bisexuality. However, it does not in any way imply an obligation to do something. My best friend wears a black one, which means she is asexual. Just as we would never force a loved one to come to dinner with us, we avoid such a constraint in terms of sex. It’s just good manners.

Anyway, I think I covered the most important things. I am not embarking on this speech because I want to push you away, but to make you understand that a commitment may be complicated. We'll have to make compromises or our union will be doomed to failure. There are so many things we need to discuss. I would like to prepare you for the worst, in order to avoid any unnecessary suffering. You say you're in love with me almost every day and I take your word for it. For my part, I would never have dared to admit these feelings to you. We know they are not temporary. So, if you really feel ready to go down that road by my side, we'll find a way to succeed, despite the odds. There has to be solutions. In any case, it won't change the most important thing: I love you, Evelina.

Your Jovian lover, 

Alfhild Caecilia of Keelut


End file.
